Why does CDTA bus say it’s stopping when it’s not?

Q: I enjoy your column and find it informative and helpful. It is good to see that real change sometimes happens as a result of problems you highlight in your column.

So here is my issue:

This morning, I was driving down Route 2 behind a #70 CDTA bus as it was decelerating down the hill from Latham into Watervliet. An authoritative-looking electronic sign mounted on the back of the bus kept blinking the message “STOP STOP STOP” at me for about a quarter of a mile, even though the bus was moving.

I assume that the sign lights up whenever the driver applies the brakes, but in this case the bus was not stopping, it was just decelerating. (The speed limit goes from 45 down to 30 on that stretch, and the steep incline means that a considerable amount of braking is required for a bus to reduce its speed by that much.)

I found it disconcerting to be ignoring a sign in front of me that kept blinking “STOP STOP STOP” and it seems to me that it is not a good idea for CDTA buses to train people to ignore signs that say “STOP.”

I’d appreciate it if you would inquire with CDTA about whether there is anything they can do so that the “STOP” sign only fires up when the bus is actually stopped.

— Mary O’Keeffe, Niskayuna

A: Margo Janack, spokeswoman for CDTA, said the agency will see what can be done.

“The electronic ‘stop sign’ on the back of buses is a safety feature for motorists as well as riders,” she said. “The sign flashes ‘stop’ as the brakes are being applied to alert vehicles driving behind the bus that the bus is slowing down and may come to a full stop. Space on the signage is limited, so few words can be used. We’re looking into your reader’s suggestion and working with the sign manufacturer to see what might be done to integrate these proposed changes while still maintaining a safety awareness message for motorists.”

Tim O'Brien

3 Responses

The newer CDTA buses don’t have these electronic stop signs.
I think it is just the 1999-2000 Nova Bus LFS that have these signs.
Hopefully those buses can get replaced within the next two years and the electronic stop signs can be retired with them.

The STOP STOP STOP signs are absurd. At first, I wondered if this was anything like the “stop” signal that a school bus displays when stopped. No. Next, I thought the sign must mean that the bus is stopping. Nope. Then I wondered if the bus was approaching a bus stop. No, not that either. Finally, I figured that the driver must just be braking. For any other vehicle on the road, brake lights are an ample and recognized signal for braking. By adopting this silly display, CDTA has taught us that STOP STOP STOP is just visual garbage that conveys no meaningful information.

Smoothie, right on. I totally agree. Plus, drivers here (and everywhere, really) are incompetent enough that any confusion should be avoided at all costs.

I’d also like to say that the handicap sign on the back of the bus that displays when a rider in a wheelchair is riding is also useless. Knowing which bus has just passed is much more important to me as a rider than knowing that a wheelchair is on it.